TeacupKid

Hey everyone! I've decided to apply for a CLS this year in Persian. I study Arabic but thought that I may not be as competitive since I'll have finished the most advanced level my university offers by the summer. Does that affect my competitiveness?

I'm applying to masters' programs in Middle Eastern studies straight out of undergrad. I go to an Ivy League school and I'm going to graduate with at least a 3.2 GPA. I have some internship experience in my field and not much academic research experience, but I do have a lot of writing experience in my field. I have a strong SOP and good LOR (one of them is from one of the foremost professors in IR) and I am also fluent in Arabic with study abroad experience. My GRE scores are good (163V, 155Q, 5W) but I'm worried that my GPA will drag me down...what schools are considered 'safe', 'middle', and 'reach' for me?

These are the instructions for the SOP the MPA program I'm applying to is asking for: "Please upload a copy of your Personal Statement. Pease give your reasons for deciding to do graduate work int field you have chosen. Include a statement concerning your past work (study and research) in your chosen field, your plans for study, including issues and problems you want to address, and your professional goals." This just seems so vague! What are these 'issues and problems' I can address? Does that mean issues with me, like trying to overcome a low GRE score, or issues that I want to work on through my grad work? And is there space in this to talk about me personally, or do they only want to know about my academic and professional qualifications?

I just got my GRE results back yesterday...I got a 155 Q (58th percentile), 163 V (93rd percentile) and 5 Analytics (92nd percentile). I worry that my quant score is lower than what a lot of schools want; I'm aiming for Brown's Watson School, CIPA, SIPA, and Fletcher, primarily. I'm a poli sci undergrad major now at an Ivy League school; my major GPA is a 3.54 but my cumulative GPA is lower due to a disastrous first year. I'm also playing up my fluency in Arabic as a selling point for myself...should I retake the GRE or lower my expectations for schools?